Thank you to all of our community members for your ongoing efforts to prioritize the health and safety of our community. Your actions have helped flatten the curve and protect lives, and continued social distancing measures will be vital to maintain the health of the community. While the past few months have been filled with the unknown and a lot of change, Emmetsburg residents and businesses have taken initiative to uplift one another, share messages of hope and encouragement, and brighten our community. We’ve seen bright and cheery window displays, efforts to support local businesses, selfless acts of service, residents checking in and taking care of one another, and stories of good things going on in Emmetsburg despite COVID-19 on 94.1 KEMB radio. Thank you for being such a caring community. We’re so proud of Emmetsburg, and we know we’ll get through this together!

COVID-19 will continue to be a prominent part of our everyday lives, but we won’t let it hold back this strong small town. Emmetsburg is getting back to business! The State already lifted some restrictions, and more announcements will come this week. Campgrounds and the golf course are now open! Restaurants, fitness centers, retail stores, and churches may open with limited capacity and extra precautions to safely serve customers and the community when they are ready. As more businesses open their doors or offer new services online instead, it’s important that we all support our local businesses during this time. Shopping local and eating local today will secure the future of small businesses in our community.

We’re waiting with great anticipation for the days when our downtown is bustling, children fill our playgrounds, and events pack our community calendar. Stay strong knowing those days are coming. In the meantime, stay safe, take care of one another, spread kindness like never before, and uplift Emmetsburg.

Closed Memorial Day
City Hall and Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities will be closed on Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. Monday’s solid waste collection will be picked up on Tuesday, May 26th. The City Council meeting will be dispensed. 

Flushing Water Mains
Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities will be flushing water mains this week on Tuesday, May 12 through Thursday, May 14. Crews will start at Harrison Park and work clockwise. Residents are encouraged to check their water before doing laundry.

Road Closure

On Monday, May 11th 17th Street was closed on the west end to begin removal and replacement of that section of the road. This closing will last approximately 30 days. 

Business Signage & Other Permits

Businesses are reminded that they must obtain a sign permit to place a sign on a building, structure, or land in the City of Emmetsburg. The sign permit application and other applications (i.e. building, driveway, excavation permits) may be found on the city website.

The Emmetsburg Chamber is hosting an Eat Local Shop Local promotion and you are invited to participate. It is quite simple! Order food from any of our local restaurants May 7-17, sign your receipt and add your phone number, take a picture of it and email the photo to eburgevents@gmail.com. Don’t email? Just drop the receipt in the box in our office entry. After May 18, five names will be drawn to each win a gift card bouquet worth $100 that we purchased from Chamber member retailers. Buying gift cards now and spending them later supports stores when they need cash most.

In speaking of gift cards, we want to express our appreciation to Fareway Stores who donated forty $50 gift cards through ICCE and the Emmetsburg Chamber to be distributed to business owners who have been negatively impacted over the past 7 weeks. Thank you Fareway for being a strong community partner!

Deb Hite

Director, Emmetsburg Chamber of Commerce
712.852.2283

Acting as a catalyst for new housing development in Emmetsburg, the Emmetsburg Community Development Corporation (ECDC) decided to invest in a middle-income-ownership housing project. It is doing so because spec-housing is not being built in Emmetsburg by the private sector, resulting in a shortage of new housing in general and a shortage of new middle-income housing in particular. Understanding there is need for new middle-income housing to attract and retain employees that are required in the local workforce, ECDC contracted with a real estate development company and a local contractor in August 2019 to initiate the construction of two single family homes on lots in the Rockport subdivision with plans to build additional homes in the future. ECDC’s approach is to build these houses in a manner similar to what a private builder/developer would do to show that if ECDC is successful, there is a market for new, middle-income housing. One of the homes has sold already, showing early signs of project success.

The two new homes offer over 1,400 square feet of finished space on the main floor with an open floor plan, three bedrooms and two bathrooms, beautiful lake and country views, a nice backyard with trail access, plus an attached two-car garage. Additionally, the spacious unfinished basements with large egress windows offer great potential for new owners. 

ECDC plans to host a public open house in the near future (pending COVID-19 gathering restrictions) for the community and interested buyers to view the available home and learn more about the project. Stay tuned for more information! For those interested in learning more abot the homes, contact Gretchen Reichter at 712-415-1152.

Emmetsburg.com/

COVID19

Visit the COVID-19 page on the City of Emmetsburg website for most up to date information regarding COVID-19 including city notices and closures/openings, financial programs and assistance for businesses, unemployment information, and more.

Business Assistance 

If you have questions about available resources for business affected by COVID-19, contact Gretchen Reichter, the City of Emmetsburg Marketing & Retail Coordinator at 712-415-1142.

Emmetsburg campgrounds opened for recreational camping on May 8, 2020 with the following guidelines:

• Campers must be self-contained
• Visitors will not be allowed in campground, only those occupying the campsites
• Campfires at the individual campsites will be limited to campers occupying that campsite
• All public restroom/shower facilities will remain closed
• Cabins will remain closed
• Picnic tables and grills are open for use at your own risk

Golf Course Open 

The Five Island Golf Course is open for the season with the following guidelines:

• Practice social distancing. Avoid close contact (6 feet) with others.
• Only 1 person per cart unless family member resides at the same address
• Cart rentals are available at half price due to the 1-person rule 
• Do not remove the flag pins

Library
The library, while not yet open to the public, continues to serve the public:

• Your items checked out from the library are not overdue. Due dates for all items out have been extended, and will continue to be extended through the duration of the closure.
• If you so choose, you may return your items by placing them in the curbside book drop. Please only return items in this manner.
• You may still place holds in our online catalog or call or email the library to hold books for you. Call us again when you are at the library or before you leave home with an ETA, and the library staff will bring your items to you curbside.
• Remember, we offer access to a large number of downloadable ebooks, e-audiobooks, and e-magazine that you can access from home or on a mobile device. Visit our website, www.emmetsburg.lib.ia.us, or call the library for details.

News Updates from Governor Kim Reynolds

Iowa Department of Public Health - COVID-19 Case Data

Small Business Development Center - Business Assistance

Iowa Workforce Development - Unemployment Information

Iowa Economic Development Authority - Business Programs and Resources